Tigers shine against 3A foes at Clarinda
CLARINDA — Red Oak distance runner Logan LeRette described his leg of the distance medley Friday night at the Cardinal Relays as walking on thin ice.
As the anchor, LeRette needed to run 800 meters with some of the toughest runners in the 3A field biting at his heels.
“I was doubting myself and waiting for somebody to pass me, but as soon as I crossed the first lap, I got it in me that I could do this,” LeRette said. “I did it for the team.
With LeRette as the anchor, the distance medley team picked up the biggest win of the night for Red Oak, one of three for the Tigers in the 3A meet of Friday’s Cardinal Relays at Clarinda High School.
“My legs weren’t feeling the freshest, so I didn’t know how I was going to do,” LeRette said. “It’s because of Rob [Vial] being mentally focused that I ran the way I did.”
LeRette, along with Hayden VanMeter, Brock Isaacson and Vial, took first with a time of 3:52.54, beating out Glenwood by nearly two seconds.
“I ran really hard towards the end there. I saw the two guys in front of me and I had a little bit of energy left and I thought in my head my goal was to pass as many people as I could in that final stretch,” Vial said.
LeRette took the baton from Vial, who told him to kick it into high gear, which he did quickly and gave Red Oak the lead heading into the final 400 meters.
“I’ve never been the smartest about running 800s, but I saw the Glenwood kid and was in the zone,” LeRette said. “I went after him and passed him and really didn’t know what to do.”
It’s the first win for relay win for the Red Oak boys track team in nearly two years.
LeRette had another big win earlier in the evening when he took the top medal in the 1,600, holding off Jaxon Eden of Atlantic by four seconds to run a time of 4:47.66.
“We really had to get out there in the beginning,” LeRette said. “It was a battle at first, but you’ve got to be patient with yourself.”
Josh Sunberg started the day for Red Oak with a win in the 3,200. Sunberg ran a time of 10:32.48, which was nearly nine seconds ahead of runner-up Preston Burris of Harlan.
Red Oak, a 2A school for track the last few seasons, was placed in the 3A field, while rivals Shenandoah and Clarinda sat in the 2A field. While Shenandoah took first and Clarinda tied for second, both teams combined to win two events at the Cardinal Relays.
Red Oak finished seventh with 37 points. Glenwood won the 3A meet with a score of 128.
Class 2A
The one area team in the 2A field was Southwest Valley, which finished sixth with a score of 42 points.
Southwest Valley had two individual wins at Clarinda, highlighted by Scott Vanderhoof, who won the high jump with 5’10”.
Vanderhoof’s jump was four inches higher than runner-up Matt Deitchler of Treynor.
The other win came courtesy of Tony Klocke, who won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.51.
Klocke edged out Underwood’s Tyler Freese at the finish line.
Southwest Valley also put together a strong finish in the shuttle hurdles when Vanderhoof and Klocke joined Colten Drake and Tyler Bissell to finish third with a time of 1:05.73.
Class 1A
The top area finisher in the 1A/JV field was Griswold, which took second with a score of 97. Mount Ayr easily won the meet with a score of 160.
Griswold had four wins at the Cardinal Relays Friday, including two in relay races.
The Tigers won both the shuttle hurdles and the 4x100. David Thompson got a win in the 3,200, running a time of 11:09.18, while Aaron Metheny won the long jump with 19’2.75”.
The Essex Trojans picked up a win at the Cardinal Relays, thanks to Cody McClintock, who won the 1,600 with a time of 5:03.52.
Stanton scored points thanks in part to Alex Becthold, who put together solid finishes in the field events. Becthold finished second in the discus with a throw of 130’. In the shot put, Becthold was third with 41’1”.
Connor Hultman also had a strong finish for the Vikings in the 400-meter hurdles when he took fourth with a time of 1:04.42.
East Mills finished third in the 1A field with a score of 65.
The Wolverines didn’t have a win, but they did have several second place finishes, including two by Sam Rew.
Rew was second in the high jump and the 110-meter hurdles.
East Mills finished second in the shuttle hurdles and the 4x400 meter relay.